We have chosen the slightly odd title for this post as, in the work that follows, we will be attempting to introduce you to various items amongst our current stock that have some form of book storage as part of their feature set. Some pieces are out and out bookcases in all the various configurations that can involve but others incorporate book storage as part of a wider function. All of these pieces have been carefully selected as we attempt to acquire only the most interesting and useful examples of their kind. There are pieces in a wide variety of sizes and at many different price points and we are confident that we can help you to find the perfect piece of “book furniture” for your home or office.
We begin this little survey with a writing table by Wright and Mansfield
https://wickantiques.co.uk/product/an-olivewood-writing-table-by-wright-and-mansfield/
Unusually veneered in finely figured olive wood, this writing table is mounted throughout with fine ormolu. The reason it has been chosen for this post is that the piece features a small bookshelf element at the back of the top, perfect for storing useful reference books in a home office environment or one’s latest literary finds in a bibliophile’s library. This is a supremely elegant table, made by the only English cabinetmaker to win a gold medal in any of the 19th century industrial exhibitions. The table is stamped with the maker’s name to the central drawer and features a royal patent lock, suitable for the firm’s Bond Street clientele. Writing tables are always desirable pieces that can form the centrepiece of a collection but this particular table has that little something extra.
Our next few items could be termed movable bookcases or cabinets with book storage features. We begin with a very fine pair of regency period side cabinets with book shelves, labelled by their maker Charles Smith of Grosvenor Street, London.
https://wickantiques.co.uk/product/a-pair-of-high-regency-coromandel-and-ormolu-bookcase-console-tables/
Unusually veneered in coromandel, a striped and exotic timber of high cost, these fine pieces have Egyptian revival detailing associated with the likes of the designer and connoisseur Thomas Hope and his followers. Excitingly, these pieces retain their maker’s labels and so we can say with certainty that they were made by Charles Smith of 70 Lower Grosvenor Street, Grosvenor Square, London.No other labelled pieces by the firm seem to have been recorded-there are none in Christopher Gilbert’s Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture 1700-1840 and searches through past sale records have not turned up any other examples. What makes this especially significant is that the firm of Charles Smith and its various iterations. is reasonably well recorded and the commissions which they received were second to none during the period in which they operated.
Charles Smith is believed to have begun trading on his own account c.1784 at 69 Lower Grosvenor Street and as early as 1790 he claimed to be “upholsterer to their majesties”. The firm began trading as Charles Smith and Co in 1791 as Smith partnered with a Robert Donald Smith and this partnership lasted until at least 1794. by 1806, the firm’s premises, though still in actual fact the same building, had been re-numbered to 70 Lower Grosvenor Street and Smith was now in partnership with George Key, trading as Smith and Key. It was under this name that the firm was mentioned by Thomas Sheraton in his Cabinet Dictionary and the firm were listed as master cabinet makers.
An advert in the London Sun newspaper, dated the 12th of February 1806 announced the ending of the partnership with Key and the reversion to the trading name of Charles Smith. The advert is also interesting in that it claims that the manufacturing side of the business had always been the responsibility of Smith himself and so production would “go on as before”.
As we are well known specialists in maritime works of art, we were particularly interested to find out that Smith’s wife Lucy had an interesting maritime connection. Lucy Smith is mentioned in the Lord Chamberlain’s accounts between c.1783 and 1805 in relation to furnishings supplied to the Royal residences and offices but, even more intriguingly, she was also responsible for the furnishing of the Royal yachts Mary and Royal Charlotte. It is at present unknown whether these commissions were undertaken in her own name or under the name of her husband as she is known to have receipted bills sent by her husband in other cases and this may have also been the case here.
Charles Smith was insured by the Sun Insurance Company in 1810 and his cover for stock and utensils used to conduct his business amounted to £3500, indicating a large business of considerable importance. Also in this year Smith entered in to partnership with John Bywater, this partnership apparently lasting until Smith’s death in 1825.
Outside of his work for the Royal family, Smith had a string of other important recorded commissions including work at Harewood House in Yorkshire (his largest known commission outside of Royal work) and for David Garrick’s widow. These commissions are interesting as both of these clients had previously used Thomas Chippendale for the majority of their furniture-a compliment to Charles Smith if ever there was one. In addition to these commissions, furniture by Smith was supplied to Shuborough where two sofas and ten chairs known to be by him survive, Heaton Hall and Audley End. Perhaps most intriguing of all is the fact that Smith also furnished the Royal boxes for George III and the Prince of Wales at the Drury Lane Theatre under the direction of Henry Holland. It is tempting to wonder whether Holland might have had any connection with the design of our pieces as a result.
The newspaper advert quoted above and the name changes for the firm suggest a likely date of production for these pieces between 1806 and 1810. They are rare survivals as labelled pieces by a major London maker with many famous commissions but few pieces with secure attributions and they will suit a connoisseur collector who appreciates both their history and their very practical, decorative qualities.
Another pair of side cabinets with bookshelves in our collection were made by the fine makers Gillows of Lancaster.
https://wickantiques.co.uk/product/a-pair-of-george-iv-rosewood-side-cabinets-by-gillows/
These cabinets bear the maker’s stamp to one of the doors so there is no doubt as to who made them. Even without the stamps, however, an attribution would have been easy to make based on the quality of the timbers used, the fine design and proportions and the abundant use of brass ornament. These lovely cabinets are excellent examples of a style popular around c.1820 and are notable in that they retain the mirrored backs to the bookshelf sections. Pairs of side cabinets are always useful and rare to find in this condition and we are delighted to be able to offer them to our clients.
Closing the English channel, we have three lovely book tables of late 19th century date and French manufacture. These are offered as one pair and one single of related, though not identical, model.
https://wickantiques.co.uk/product/a-pair-of-open-library-bookcases-are-inset-with-oval-black-leather-tops/
https://wickantiques.co.uk/product/a-napoleon-iii-kingwood-freestanding-open-bookcase/
These lovely pieces are profusely mounted with fine ormolu, beautifully cast and chased, and are designed to be freestanding pieces of furniture which are at home in both a formal drawing room and a casual bedroom setting. Pairs of book tables are very rarely encountered so we are particularly pleased to be able to offer one to our clients but the single piece is just as beautiful and equally practical. These lovely pieces will add a little accent of French luxury to any interior.
We also have an English booktable, almost certainly made by Gillows c.1820
https://wickantiques.co.uk/product/a-late-regency-birds-eye-maple-cylindrical-open-bookcase-attributed-to-gillows/
In contrast to the French equivalents, this piece is somewhat larger and relies entirely for its decorative impact on the fine bird’s eye maple veneers rather than additional metal mounts. It retains its leather dust strips, designed to stop dust marking the pages of one’s books, and the shelves are adjustable to taste. This is a highly versatile piece of furniture, particularly unusual in maple rather than the more common rosewood or mahogany.
We are now going to highlight three side cabinets in our collection, all with book storage sections of one sort of another. Continuing our interest in bird’s eye maple, the first piece we should like to highlight is also veneered in that timber and dates to c.1815
https://wickantiques.co.uk/product/a-regency-birds-eye-maple-open-bookcase/
The piece has a set of open bookshelves in the centre with cupboard doors to each side. Profusely mounted with ormolu, this is a highly sophisticated piece which would have been very expensive to commission at the time. It combines metal mounts with contrasting rosewood inlay for a particularly luxurious look. This is a piece that really has the “wow factor” that any collector or decorator is looking for and we are delighted to offer it on our website.
Also of c.1815 date but made in a slightly more conservative style, we have a rosewood breakfront open bookcase attributed to Gillows.
https://wickantiques.co.uk/product/a-late-regency-rosewood-breakfront-open-bookcase-attributed-to-gillows/
This lovely piece consists of shelves throughout-there are no cupboard doors here. It relies for its decoration entirely upon carved elements, another way that it differs from the previous piece. Of fine colour and patination, this is a highly attractive piece of English furniture that will enhance any room.
Of William IV period, c.1836, and again by Gillows, we have a rosewood side cabinet.
https://wickantiques.co.uk/product/a-late-william-iv-rosewood-breakfront-open-bookcase-by-gillows/
The design for this type of piece, dated 1836, survives in the Gillows archive in Westminster and so we can be sure that this piece was made between c.1836 and 1840. This piece is stamped by the firm so its authorship is not in any doubt. Stylistically it combines elements of the two previous pieces and creates something entirely new. Like the open bookcase discussed previously, the piece is veneered in rosewood and relies on carving for its decoration. Even the gallery to the top is turned out of the timber rather than applied in metal as on the bird’s eye maple piece. However the cupboard doors, rather than purely open shelves, relate to that latter piece. The configuration has changed, however, with the cupboard doors in the centre and the open book shelves in the wings. This is a striking and attractive piece by one of the most celebrated of all English furniture makers.
We now move on to a series of bookcases incorporating writing sections, either secretaires or bureaus. The first two pieces are examples of Anglo-Chinese furniture-in other words, furniture made in China for English clients and based on native English models.
https://wickantiques.co.uk/product/an-anglo-chinese-camphor-and-ebony-campaign-secretaire-bookcase/
https://wickantiques.co.uk/product/anglo-chinese-amboyna-and-secretaire-bookcase/
Both of these pieces are what might be termed campaign furniture. They have certain features such as recessed handles and modular construction that make them easy to pack and transport, whether for use on military or naval campaigns or for the use of empire officials in bureaucratic contexts. Such pieces are both highly attractive and desirable in today’s market with fine pieces being increasingly difficult to find. The first of our examples is constructed in camphor wood and ebony and has features that suggest a date of c.1820 such as the carved ebony paw feet. Our second example, with its decorative pediment, is veneered in exotic amboyna wood and was probably made c.1840. Each of these pieces combines a secretaire writing section with bookcase functionality in the top section and with their combination of good looks and functionality, they will enhance any home.
We also have a lovely late 18th century English satinwood secretaire bookcase in stock, with later painted “Sheraton revival” decoration applied in the late Victorian or Edwardian period
https://wickantiques.co.uk/product/a-sheraton-style-west-indian-satinwood-secretaire-bookcase/
This piece has the fine proportions one would expect from an English piece produced in the age of elegance when architects like Robert Adam, Sir William Chambers and James Wyatt inspired generations of connoisseurs with their designs for furniture as well as architecture in the neoclassical style. The paintwork has been sympathetically applied to the beautiful satinwood veneers and this has created a lovely work of art rather than simply a practical piece of furniture.
Certainly our most unusual bookcase, and one of the most important examples available anywhere on the open market, we have a very interesting regency kneehole writing cabinet attributed to Morel and Seddon
https://wickantiques.co.uk/product/an-impressive-and-monumental-rosewood-regency-kneehole-bureau-cabinet-with-ormolu-mounts-of-exceptional-quality-attributed-to-seddon-and-morel/
Of truly monumental size, this extraordinary piece would have been produced for a great house and a connoisseur with a budget to match. Veneered throughout in rosewood, the piece is extensively ormolu-mounted and inlaid with brass. This extremely unusual piece of furniture can be thought of as a kneehole desk with a superstructure, a writing cabinet on a pedestal base or as a bureau cabinet with a kneehole section. Although examples of this kind of furniture were produced from the early 18th century onwards they are very rare and no designs for them seem to have survived in the usual design books. That may suggest that these pieces were not often produced for stock by cabinetmakers, rather they were bespoke pieces for specific clients and to suit particular spaces.
In practical terms, the design works extremely well, with the functions of several pieces of large furniture combining in one, thus allowing a considerable saving in floor space in a library or drawing room of the day.
What sets the current piece apart even further from the small number of other surviving examples is the use of exceptionally fine ormolu mounts, very much in the manner of Morel and Seddon. The firm of Morel and Seddon is most famous for the furniture produced for the King’s apartments at Windsor Castle during the 1820s. In fact, an ormolu-mounted door produced by the firm as part of this project, and illustrated on the front cover of Hugh Roberts’ For the King’s Pleasure: The Furnishing and Decoration of George IV’s Apartments at Windsor Castle features very similar corner mounts to those used on the mirrored panels on our piece. In the case of the Seddon door, the direction of the mounts is reversed but they are certainly very similar in design and quality of execution.
Simply put, this is one of the finest pieces of English furniture we have ever been privileged enough to handle. It will be impossible to find another-this was clearly a bespoke commission for a very specific interior. Highly recommended for the advanced collector or for someone looking for a show-stopping piece of decoration with a practical purpose.
We conclude our survey with two library bookcases, perhaps the sort of thing most people would imagine if asked to describe an antique bookcase.
Our first example, dating to c.1835, is again attributed to Gillows.
https://wickantiques.co.uk/product/a-fine-early-william-iv-mahogany-breakfront-bookcase-firmly-attributed-gillows-of-lancaster/
Although this breakfront piece does have a secretaire drawer, its primary function is as a library bookcase and, as such, it is of large size and imposing form. Veneered in mahogany of the highest quality, much of the carved detail relates directly to known and documented Gillows pieces discussed by Susan Stuart in her monograph on the firm. The central drawer on our piece is stamped “Preston” which is an intriguing clue as to its earlier history. The figuring of the timbers on the lower doors is exemplary and this is as high quality a bookcase as one could ever hope to find. Utterly beautiful.
Our final piece is a monumental six door or triple breakfront library bookcase, also attributed to Gillows.
https://wickantiques.co.uk/product/a-large-and-impressive-late-regency-six-door-mahogany-bookcase-attributed-to-gillows/
This piece was made c.1815 and again relates to known Gillows designs preserved in the archives centre in Westminster. Pieces of this scale were designed for country house libraries and the amount of storage space available here is adequate for all but the most committed bibliophiles. It is of exemplary quality, has lovely low waisted proportions and, as such, does not look overwhelming or ungainly despite its large size. This is a lovely example that would form the centrepiece of any fine library giving many years of service and pleasure to its new owner.
We hope you have enjoyed this little tour of some of our stock and please do let us know if we can give you any further information about any of these pieces. We are always happy to help.
Wick Antiques was established by Charles Wallrock in the early 1980s. Having grown up in the Antiques world Charles developed an extensive wealth of knowledge.
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